'I raised my eldest son as a single father for more than 14 years in Australia ... I have not seen any of my children since before I was under house arrest'

Assange started living with his girlfriend in 1989 and they had a son named Daniel, After Assange's home was raided when he was charged with hacking in 1991 she moved out taking Daniel with her. A custody battled ensued and was not solved until 1999 ... Although not in contact with his father for a number of years he has called for fair and apolitical treatment of him ... Julian Assange's Son on his Dad.Melbourne : Australia | Dec 09, 2010 at 5:51 PM PST
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7575701-julian-assanges-son-on-his-dad

... as Daniel grew older and Assange became more pre-occupied with his own pursuits, the relationship between father and son became more and more strained. Shortly after asking his son to join WikiLeaks in 2007, Assange left Australia permanently. Since then, the two have had no contact. Contrary to other reports, however, Daniel insists that there was no specific incident that led to the parting of ways, and holds no hatred towards his father now ...Daniel Assange: I never thought WikiLeaks would succeedby Crikey intern Nick Johns-Wickberg | Sep 17, 2010 1:17PM
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/09/17/daniel-assange-i-never-thought-wikileaks-would-succeed/

... He said he believed his accusers became angry when the younger woman, Miss W, contacted Miss A and they realised he had been to bed with both of them in swift succession. They went to the police station together, apparently to seek advice. A policewoman who heard their stories is said to have suggested they could pursue criminal charges ... Mr Assange regards himself as a victim of radicalism. "Sweden is the Saudi Arabia of feminism," he said. "I fell into a hornets' nest of revolutionary feminism" ...
WikiLeaks founder baffled by sex assault claimsby: Marie Colvin
From: The Sunday Times
December 27, 2010 12:00AM
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/wikileaks/wikileaks-founder-baffled-by-sex-assault-claims/story-fn775xjq-1225976459286

2. Thank you for that large helping of RW new sites

3. Thank you, struggle4progress, for keeping us all informed of all the latest about

that horrible monster, Julian Assange.

What would we do without you?

By publishing diplomatic and undoubtedly true reports, Assange informed us about the serious war crimes committed by members of the US government and military and the wrongs, greed and stupidity of despots around the world .

Lucky for us, we have struggle4progress to keep us informed of the infidelities, negligent parenting and sad stories of Julian Assange -- serious and unique crimes of the highest order. Way

Aren't we lucky?

Big thanks from all DUers to struggle4progress. Truly dedicated to justice as demonstrated by his/her devotion to informing us of that dangerous criminal, Julian Assange.

59. I'd like to see some evidence of people dying as a result of the releases.

I'll assume you won't need any evidence from me, when I say that all of the violence and hardship associated with unlawful invasions, (like murdering journalists) don't just put lives at risk, it actually causes the deaths of many many people.

70. As you know, we have different opinions on Assange.

That's all they are, however. Neither you nor I really knows what he cares about.

And much of the information that Assange obtained was printed in newspapers including the Guardian and the New York Times. It was normal journalism to have a lot of information and to make an editorial decision about what should be published. I suggest that you review some of the videos made by a panel including Assange and people from the Guardian at the press club in London. They explain how they were vetting the information provided to them. They were using a process much like the one the New York Times used when it decided not to publish information about Bush such as that he was eavesdropping on Americans or that it looked like he was using a device to help him through the debates. That's what journalists do.

I know that you disagree with me. I will continue to state my point of view.

6. Absolutely fascinating.

Having grown up in the midst of Assange’s mysterious world, Daniel believes that his father’s best quality as a parent was this desire to share knowledge and discuss it intelligently with his son.

“The one thing I found that I appreciated most was that he wouldn’t treat me like a child when it came to intellectual concepts: he would speak to me as though he were really trying to get me to grasp the fullness of an idea,” Daniel says. “I think that really helped me a lot in realising the nature of reality.”

*******

Daniel believes that previous reports of him being “estranged” from his father have sensationalised the issue, and have also misrepresented him in other ways. The most blatant of these was an August 27 article by the New York Post, entitled “My Wiki dad’s just awful with the ladies”.

*******

“Somehow from this they gathered that I was making some comment on his capacity to interact with women over the entirety of his life, which I think was a bit of a ridiculous jump,” Daniel says.

The New York Post did not interview Daniel or have his consent to use the comment, and mistakenly reported his age as 21, despite the fact that his Facebook profile clearly shows that he is only 20.

9. While the Assange haters may be hoping...

New York, United States (4E) – Ecuador on Thursday said that it is ready to give shelter to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange inside its embassy in London for many years if required, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said.

12. I don't think Obama would be worried about that at all.

I think ultimately Obama would like to see justice in this case. If anything I think he might be worried that the longer Assange sits around avoiding the allegations the more the DOJ can build a case against him. In which case he'd have to make some phone calls to end it rather quickly (if anyone things that Ecuador doesn't have it's price, they are idiots).

If the US wanted Assange we'd have him. Full stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect $100. He's just avoiding the allegations, and has spent 2 years doing so.

Assange would do himself a favor and let the proceedings take place and disappear. He's not safe where he's at. Ecuador is not his friend.

14. He certainly does not want to deal with it before the election.

16. Fair enough.

I think, imho, you exaggerate his importance.

But I think you're right that nothing much will happen with regards to Assange until the elections. Which actually gives Assange a reason to walk out of the embassy with his hands held high, calling Obama's bluff, so to say. But I wouldn't see that happening in a million years. Doesn't fit Assange's character.

Libertarians with such crackpot anti-government views are rather common among the very wealthy in the US: and the GOP has pandered to such views for decades now

It seems likely that libertarians with such crackpot anti-government views are also rather common among the wealthy in the UK, since Assange managed to convince folk to put up a quarter of a million pounds bail for him, which he then skipped out on, without any sign of shame

Here, by the way, is the 650 acre estate where Assange had to sleep every night under the terms of his bail:

And here is Mr Assange, being interviewed for a glowing review in Forbes:

26. your all out attempts

to attack Assange personally only serve to underscore the fact that you do not disagree with what he accomplished with wikileaks. Your are pathetic. Your- "Attack the Messenger, yet ignore the message" efforts do nothing but expose your agenda of distraction.. How much are you getting paid to post crap like this?

38. Who do you imagine would actually pay me to post anything about JA on DU?

The "get-paid-to-post" opportunities are quite limited: the field includes the various familiar spammers ("Join Pig Porn today and get a free bacon-flavored condom!") and various actual columnists who job descriptions might include blogging on their companies' websites

58. Everyone who posts regularly on a political discussion site,

especially those who have posted tens or hundreds of thousands of times, have powerful motives for doing so. Getting paid, is by no means a requisite. Many take political discussion and the need to sway others to their position, very seriously, and will put a tremendous amount of effort into it.

In my opinion, like the current leadership in Venezuela, Assange and Wikileaks represent major departures from the status quo, that scare the hell out of a lot of people.

33. The demonization of Assange accomplishes two things...

It distracts people from the government and corporate corruption exposed by Wikileaks.

Also, the constant barrage of negativity helps sway more moderate Democrats toward the thinking of the right-wing, where the greatest level of vitriol can be found against Assange (and any other whistleblowers).

45. Just what does Julian Assange want? (The Guardian 5 December 2010)

Theo Brainin
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 December 2010 05.00 EST

... Assange writes of turning counter-terrorism on its head, to target the "authoritarian" regimes that practise it. He views such regimes as vast conspiratorial networks, communicating secretly, safe in the ignorance of their citizens. The secrecy, he reasons, is there because these regimes would face opposition if they communicated openly – and if a regime wasn't authoritarian, why on earth would it need to keep secrets? ...

Just as counter-terrorism experts seek to disrupt communication between cells, Assange seeks to disrupt communication within his "authoritarian conspiracies". He does this by threatening them with constant leaks, forcing them into data silence, lest another Bradley Manning download the information ...

Assange's doctrine is woefully simplistic, and actually rather hypocritical. If secret communication is so inextricably linked to authoritarianism, then why is WikiLeaks itself so secretive? Why are its sources anonymous? Why is its leader so frequently in undisclosed locations? The answer is obvious: if WikiLeaks was open, it would face effective opposition. By Assange's own metric, WikiLeaks is as much an authoritarian conspiracy as the United States government is ...

Assange's philosophy of total transparency in the exercise of power is either incoherent or intellectually dishonest. He should present himself as what he is: an opponent of US foreign policy, who seeks to obstruct it, no matter the cost. He is no neutral truth-bearer – he just prefers one secret agenda, his own, to another.

47. Uhhhhhhhhh....

Assange is merely providing a journalistic service, often for other journalistic media such as the New York Times. How can you possibly compare Wikileaks to a superpower??? Maybe if he were working in league with China or Muslim nations, but as far as I know he is not. Does he have that much leverage? I really don't think so.

Protecting the identities of your sources is not unusual, particularly when they face the same persecution as Manning or Assange by the actual superpower.

Assange's conspiratorial arguments may be excessively hyperbolic, as I mention in posts below I don't offer him hero worship so I'm not in a position to defend everything he says. To me it's simple: the US has engaged in illegal wars and collusion with banks and other big business. Wikileaks threatens expose, and has successfully exposed, some of that corruption. This upsets the extreme right wing and so they have called for his death.

67. His imprisonment is self-imposed, is it not? He's free to leave that Embassy at anytime. No?

68. He will then get arrested and detained under harsh conditions....

despite the glowing reviews that Sweden gets from the anti-Assange crowd, their pre-trial detention conditions and policies have actually been criticized by anti-torture groups. The main concern is the he would likely be deprived of any outside communication. Sweden is also more secretive than the UK and there would likely be no press reports about his situation.

69. Quite frankly, I don't give a flying fuck what happens to this asshole. Leave the embassy. Stay...

there, but quit scapegoating the US and honest to goodness whistleblowers, to save his own sick ass from justice. No skin off my nose. His supporters keep saying what Pres. Obama should do or say to reassure Mr. ASSange, but they never really say what Mr. ASSange should do or say.

39. Very interesting comments...

‘If the US drops its actions against us then the situation becomes easy. The risk period for my extradition to the US – though it could come at any moment – is immediately before or immediately after the trial of Bradley Manning, since the accusation is that I was in some kind of conspiracy with him to obtain information from the US government.’ Manning’s trial is set to begin in February.

...

‘The problem is that I have been trapped in the UK by the Swedish extradition claim for the past two years while the US has progressed its investigation into WikiLeaks and me to the point where it is ready to proceed with a prosecution, or almost ready.

‘Even if the Swedish case goes away, the US can just phone in an extradition order to the UK. If the US investigation goes away it will be fine, I can travel again.

‘If it proceeds to a prosecution then it is a chess game in terms of my movements. I would be well advised to be in a jurisdiction that is not in an alliance with the US, anywhere which allows me to keep on working.’

41. What can the UK do...

except extradite him to Sweden? Did you read the comments carefully?

Only now has the US investigation progressed to the point where they may decide to prosecute. Until the US has decided to prosecute and then ask for his extradition to the US, the UK certainly can't decide on their own to send him there.

Also, if he is kept in detention in Sweden then he will likely be denied communication with anyone except his lawyer, and they could drag the sex case on for up to year before it actually goes to trial. I'm sure the US would prefer he be kept in detention in Sweden.

44. they could do so now...

nobody is arguing that they can't.

The point of the comments, if you read them carefully, is that he's not out of the woods until the US decides to drop its investigation, regardless of the case in Sweden. The only advantage (to the US) of the case in Sweden is that he would remain in Swedish detention for a while and probably out of communication with anyone.

I don't worship him as a hero, but I do see him as being persecuted, and I think he's doing the right thing. The Obama Admin claims that the probability of him being prosecuted by the US decreases over time. If you take this to be true, then it makes sense for Assange to wait it out as long as possible.

46. how is that saying that tends to be so popular on DU

Justice delayed is justice denied? Is it right to deny the Swedish women justice?

And if Assange had not been delaying things for 2 years then he would more then likely have been a free man again by now(if he was found guilty and put in jail in Sweden) meaning he could have traveled close to anywhere he wanted to avoid the US

48. Suppose that the US suddenly drops their investigation...

then according to Assange's comments above he should have no problem facing justice in Sweden.

I don't know that Assange would be a free man now if he had cooperated with Sweden. The vitriol was extreme back in 2010. I believe I even read a report that the US was discussing the possibility of extradition to the US directly with Swedish officials...

Informal discussions have already taken place between US and Swedish officials over the possibility of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being delivered into American custody, according to diplomatic sources.

63. can understand why they were informal

A formal request would likely have been turned down as I'm sure they were told when asking since both Sweden and the EU have rules for extradition and Assange wouldn't qualify for extradition based on em(and as have been mentioned elsewhere, if Assange is extradited to Sweden then for Assange to be extradited to yet another country would require the UK to agree to it as well, giving Assange two countries in which to fight an extradition to the US aka more protection, not less)

And in all honesty, if the US were to say they dropped their case against Assange then i would wager 5 to 1 on him creating another excuse as for why he can't go to Sweden.

66. When the parties make certain statements publically...

then the public would expect them to live up to their statements. If the US provides assurance that prosecution is no longer possible and Assange continues to make excuses, then he begins to lose credibility.

Obama seems to be going out on a limb by indicating that there is division within his own administration on the wisdom of prosecuting Assange, and by hinting that there may be political motivations for not dropping the investigation before the election.

64. He can't actually access the roof without leaving the embassy

57. Geez, what a crybaby

He likes to present himself as Public Enemy #1 to the powers that be, but 3 months of self-imposed exile and he goes all squirrely and starts complaining about his *lungs*? I wonder if he's trying to set up a narrative where he gives himself up, but only because his health "forced" him to.